186. Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard

2 Kings 19:1  As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.” When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’

We read this of Hezekiah, “And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him.”

Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and yet, he and his people are besieged.  The Assyrian king sent his men to overtake Judah.  They mocked Hezekiah and the God he served, trusted, and relied on.

I think it important to note that trouble and trials come to every person under the sun.  We do well to recognize God in and through our troubles and trials.  Never give up hope in His steadfast love, power, and might.  Be like Job when he heard the news of the loss of his children.  Job 1:20-21  “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Do not allow the troubles and trials of the day take you away from trusting God more, relying on God more, and clinging to God more.  In our heart we hurt, in our mind, we become numb and lost, but in our soul, we will find a peace that passes all understanding when we humbly lay our hurts, troubles, and trials at the feet of Jesus and honor and glorify Him through ever increasing trust and faith in him.